Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the famous Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district on Friday. This is Modi's sixth visit to Kedarnath and second to Badrinath as the prime minister.
Paying tribute to the women of Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba, Modi wore the traditional 'Chola Dora' dress. It was gifted to the Prime Minister during his recent visit to Himachal. He had then promised the women that he would wear them whenever he visited a cold place.
Modi was accompanied by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to the temple. He also reviewed the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath in Kedarnath.
On his arrival at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun, the prime minister was received by Governor Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister Ajay Bhatt.
He is also scheduled to visit the Badrinath temple later in the day.
During his two-day tour of the state, Modi will inspect various ongoing development projects and lay the foundation stones for some new ones besides the 9.7-km Gaurikund-Kedarnath ropeway project. Once the ropeway project materialises, devotees will now be able to reach the temple from Gaurikund in 30 minutes.
During his two-and-a-half-hour-long programme at Kedarnath, Modi is also scheduled to visit the Samadhi Sthal of Adi Guru Shankaracharya.
At Badrinath Dham, he will review the progress of the development projects along the riverfront.
In the afternoon, Modi will lay the foundation stones of road and ropeway projects and address a gathering at Mana village. Thereafter, he will review the progress of the beautification project of the Arrival Plaza and the lakes in the area.
Security has been tightened around the two famous hill temples in view of the prime minister's visit. Both temples have been decorated with quintals of flowers.
(With inputs from PTI)
